Barefoot
by Sirenic Griffin
Summary: A man destined to become the finest Emperor of Alacia is forced by both his father and destiny to choose his wife at a ball and meets a soulmate. [Traditional Cinderella  and Sleeping Beauty]


"**Barefoot****"**

**Written by Sirenic Griffin, July 7****th**** 2007**

**Summary:**A man destined to become the finest Emperor of Alacia takes is forced by both his father and destiny to choose his wife at a ball and meets a soul-mate. [Traditional Cinderella + Sleeping Beauty

**Author Notes:**This fairytale was born in an attempt to create a Beauty and the Beast story and realising I'd tried to assimilate too many other fairytales and I should return to only using one. I liked their story though and decided to tell it without the relation to the B&B fic.

**Disclaimer**Although I see no point to writing a disclaimer with a fairytale, I see point in recognising the origins of ideas. Fairytales are of equivalent age to stories such as the dreamtime stories, or tribal myths and legends and therefore have no legitimate owner. The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson simply collected and collated German, French and Italian fireside stories and due to an age-group requirement or the fact the stories were far too gruesome and did not meet certain nobilities standards many traditional stories were changed beyond repair and their meanings lost. I used the tale of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella in this tale, the version used in H-C. I wish you luck and enjoyment throughout reading this story and hope you'll repay the kindness of my writings with reviews.

"**Barefoot"**

The swirl of pink fabric accompanied her across the dance floor as her bare feet barely touched the floor. It was her little secret; Theodora smiled to herself as she gazed at the Heir to the throne beneath her white mask, pink roses dancing across the surface. She'd always hated heels, especially when she was human and could feel the pain they brought. She much preferred to dance around with her feet. It did cause pain to her with an inept dancer but she had discovered if she was quick enough to perceive where the man intended to stand and kept moving it was not that much of a problem.

"You're enthralling, you know that?" The fifteen year old whispered, he was obviously entranced like all the other men in the room and for a moment Theodora wondered exactly what _would _happen if they saw her real form. The one the 'star-gods' gave her after her stint with the sleeping princess.

A fairy.

She'd been a witch once, an enchantress really and she'd been happy living in her little swamp, her pale blue eyes had always been nice enough and although she had had to constantly brush her long thick brown hair to remove the animals that had thought it look comfortable. It hadn't been a luxurious life but it had been a simple life but she'd been happy.

She rarely got visitors and those she got were mainly stupid young men trying to save her from the swamp, but they rarely left and so her beauty went unnoticed till someone realised her magical power and she became one of the thirteen, unwillingly, and was invited to a naming ceremony where everything went wrong.

She'd been served on a plaster plate: painted gold, unlike the others who were caret. That had been okay. She hadn't even wanted to come. Then the others had been harping on and on, talking about how good it was to be a fairy, and about living in a clean environment and generally making comments thrown in her direction that made her come to the conclusion they didn't approve of a swamp witch becoming one of the thirteen: a place generally reserved for a fairy. The Blue Fairy.

She had been ordered before she left her swamp to wear a blue dress to complete the rainbow. Burgundy, Red, Pink, Orange, Gold, Yellow, Lime, Green, Jade, Aqua, Blue, Indigo and Violet. She'd chosen a beautiful gown that had been a gift from Muir clients she had had once: made of Cerulean coloured fabric, white lace and blue beads. It had been beautiful and left the fairies seething.

So it hadn't been hard to come to the easy conclusion that the plaster was a prank, a spell by a fairy who wanted to obviously annoy her. She ignored it and the all the others pitiful pranks but her dinner had been the last straw, the partridge the other's had had looked delicious but although hers _looked like partridge _it wasn't. A swamp hen had been cooked and down its beak was stuffed a flee-ridden rat. It hadn't been shot like all the other fowl but it had obviously choked on the rat. And it had been forced to eat the rat. The Swamp Hen did not eat rats, nor did it attempt to swallow them whole.

That had been the last straw.

She had been furious.

She'd tried to bluff the culprit into confession and it had failed and she had ended up the bad-guy having to curse the innocent child with an eternal sleep after sixteen years of life, and she was removed from her thirteenth position and she'd gone back to the swamp and woken with a message from the star gods and with her true form being that of a fairy.

She'd been able to shape shift to her original form but could only hold onto it for three hours.

It had been awful: heavenly beauty, her brown hair had been a ghastly sunny shiny thin beauty; her eyes had been this awful deep green colour and her skin she'd chosen not to pay attention to. It was heavenly, and it was supernatural and it made her sick. It was not natural and she preferred her first body.

She'd tried to get it back.

And the God's gave her the task of looking after the stupid royal line which she'd terrorised with her actions.

That had meant trying to find a wife for Prince Christopher at his fifteen years of age because his father was old, feeble and wanted to see his grandchildren. And she'd found somebody too.

Ella had been her name. She'd had the largest green eyes, and the most beautiful thick blonde hair. Theodora snorted. They looked similar. That had been the big joke of it all.

The Star-Gods probably found it hilarious that the girl had thought she, Theodora, was her mother's ghost and she'd tried to coax the girl to the dance. She really had.

But the girl was so obedient.

So compliant, it wasn't even a joke. It was easy to see why she had yet to save herself and was stuck in the horrible house.

She'd been ordered to stay home and finish a job, to pick up all the peas strewn across the courtyard. Herself. And that was what she was going to do. Theodora gritted her teeth and felt the prince's right hand slip into her left, fitting perfectly and his left moving out to the side, she closed her eyes and her arm moved above her head and she felt herself spinning around again, on the spot. Her skirts moving above her knees for a split second before dropping.

"Her feet!" She heard whispers among the court and her eyes opened again and they were dancing again.

"They are barefoot?" One person asked, uncertainly and an old man corrected the other gruffly.

"No, she wears shoes. They are made of glass, so dainty and small."

So, she had had to come in Ella's place and masquerade as Ella. It was as easy as being her human self. She had till midnight to make the Prince Fall head-over-heels and then she'd rush off leaving a vital clue leading to Ella's residence so they'd find each other and it would be _Happily Ever After._ Again.

She'd succeed so far.

The prince smiled as he let her go, and the mandatory switch of partners took place and she noted easily that his brown eyes never left hers. He was really quite handsome she supposed. He had wonderful hair, brown with a tint of blonde through it, and he was tall for his age but he would face hardships to unite the land she had broken. That had been forced to survive without the entire upper class that had been stuck in a sleep that seemed to last for eternity.

She felt a flutter in her heart as she returned to him, and squashed it, as his hand touched her back and she noted that he was taller than Ella by a head an a half and her hand reached up unconsciously to his shoulder. She noticed that his hair was thick and somewhat unruly and smiled. She loved that in a man. It was her weakness. Hair. The song ended and he moved to speak in her ear.

"Do… you want… er… to go outside?" He questioned and she bit her lip, again. It was Ella's best bet.

"It would be lovely." She replied and she could hear the old king Nicholas motion excitedly to his sergeant who nodded, somewhat depressed. An old woman that she recognised to be Ella's step-mother stood close to the man and Ella's step-sister's watched annoyed as she and the prince departed from the ballroom: guards stopping anyone following them.

"Here we are!" The Prince Christopher said excitedly as he gestured around at the tail end of the lake. The clock tower could be seen in the distance and Theodora blushed. She hadn't noticed how far they travelled.

"It's-" She began but Christopher cut her off.

"It's my favourite part of the grounds. I know it's a bit swampy… but I love the swamp." He stood up straight and looked mischievously around. She spotted a seat, that seemed placed at random as an observation spot. She would've loved to go dancing through the mud. She could already feel the lovely feeling of mud between her toes, but she restrained herself. Ella was not somebody who would do that.

The Prince had no such restrictions. He was tearing off his shoes and putting them on the bench. He giggled somewhat girlishly as his feet squelched in the mud.

Theodora couldn't help it.

She laughed. He was adorable.

"What star were you born under?" She burst out trying to stop the laughter.

"The Frog? Or the Mudman?" He pouted.

"I thought everybody knew!" She shook her head, suddenly aware of the ringlets that followed her movement.

"I was born under the Conqueror. I've never heard of the Frog or Mudman… maybe I should adopt them…" Theodora rolled her eyes. She'd made them up… but the Conqueror. It was fitting for his chore.

"What about you?" It slipped out before she could stop herself.

"The Priestess." She swore to herself and Christopher looked puzzled. Ella was born under the stars of the Empress. The Star of Beauty.

"Isn't that the Wild Star?" She suddenly felt herself unable to lie to him.

"Yes…" He grinned.

"Also known as the Beastly Star." She felt like whacking herself. She nodded again. This sudden truthfulness was not going to help. It led away from Ella. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"I suppose you know this whole ball thing was designed to get me a wife." He watched her carefully and she noticed the mud on her skirt. A large stain that went far passed her ankles. She nodded again, when she wished she could deny it and say she was there for fun and she had no idea.

"You're not a lady are you?" He asked curiously and she felt herself shaking her head.

"No." Her mouth worked.

"I thought so. The bare feet gave it away." She glanced at him and she felt herself melting.

"I think it's adorable." How had this happened? He had been the nervous one. He was fifteen. She was more than twenty-times that. She was supposed to be in control. She was supposed to create an obvious paper trail to Ella. She'd even considered leaving a glass shoe behind that could only fit Ella. It was definitely not working out the way she wanted it to.

Then it struck her. Maybe it was alright to be like this. Ella was only fourteen. She'd just have to spin a few lies… and a few spells. Change her mistakes.

Make the star the Empress Star.

And maybe leave behind a ring or something that would only fit Ella's finger.

But that would have to be after 'she' had left and when the Prince was asleep.

Then the clock struck. One.

"This isn't what I expected, you know." He said lazily and she jumped up.

"I've got to go!" She said scrambling and he blinked.

It struck again. Two.

"Wait a moment. It's almost midnight. I wanted to show you some-" She looked dazed and realised that she only _had _till the clock struck. Her spell would wear off.

It struck again. Three.

"I've got to go!" She started to bolt but his hand reached out for her shoulder and she spun to look at him.

"Will I ever see you again?" She looked at the clocked worriedly.

"I don't know. Maybe."

It struck again. Four.

"See you!" She shook off his hand, now more aware of the mud that was around that had been stirred up. It was only sheer luck that she hadn't slipped already.

She bolted.

Five. She knew he stood there for a good two more strikes before following after her in a hurry.

"Wait!" He called behind her and she bolted through to the end of the gardens to the stairs that stretched around the entire castle. She raced along them and she could see the ridiculous carriage she conjured from a pumpkin no less. It was already returning to the hideous green colour of pumpkins shell.

Ten.

"I don't even know your name!" He called, quickly gaining on her. Ella hadn't been the most limber of people and he was a healthy adolescent. Adept at running. Trained for it.

She spun, ready to head down to the disastrous evil carriage. The muddy skirt now betrayed her, sticking to her legs, twisting together in a movement that she was sure that the star gods had a hand in. She fell and closed her eyes.

Preparing for the inevitable.

Warm arms enveloped her and pulled her back to the steps.

"That was dangerous…" She heard a voice mutter and her eyes shot up to gaze at Christopher.

The clock struck. Twelve.

"I have to go." She replied weakly and he raised his eyebrows smiling.

"You know, you look different in this light." He replied simply and Theodora felt the shock vibrate through her body.

"I don't know what you mean." Her head went straight down and she noticed she was taller then Ella had been. He was only a head taller now… and getting shorter. But the gods hated her that night. She couldn't move.

"Your hair, it's so beautiful. I've never seen that colour brown before." She blinked and her hand - Her pale olive hand - went and moved the lock in front of her eyes. It was back. She blinked.

"You're beautiful." He continued, almost in amazement.

"I only danced with you because you were bare foot and it was interesting… wild and alluring … but I didn't find you attractive at all." She felt herself needlessly flushing. Her head now reached his chin and he moved up a step, letting her go. Studying her.

"But…" She finished the transformation. She was a head taller than him naturally… and was his head height when it finished. She was back. She was no longer a fairy. She was Theodora. And she was wearing the Cerulean blue dress that she'd worn more than two hundred years ago.

"Was it a spell? You're completely different." He was looking curious again and Theodora smiled and did something she should've done all the years ago. She raised her hand to touch his cheek. Most witches choose to use wands, because it meant they were stuck with a back-up plan if people ever turned on them. Theodora didn't. She didn't see the point in degrading trees and taking their branches for useless purposes.

"Your Highness, I give to you the gift and opportunity of true eternal love." He jolted for a moment.

"That's cheating." He said and she cocked her head.

"Oh?"

"I've already found true love." She blinked.

"That's you, by the way." She looked into his large brown eyes and smiled. Maybe this was the way she was to fix the land from now on.

**+ Finish + **

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